Human Rights Watch (HRW) on May 26 reported that Russian authorities are unlawfully seizing [6] civilian property belonging to Ukrainians in occupied areas of the country, in violation of international law. The laws of war prohibit the unlawful confiscation of private property unless strictly justified by military necessity.
HRW analyzed around 8,000 cases involving property seizures filed between March 2024 and January 2026 in 25 courts in occupied areas, with court records showing "consistent disregard of evidence of ownership and efforts by owners to assert their rights." The seizure of property has affected millions of displaced Ukrainians or those who refuse to re-register their properties under Russian law, as they are stripped of shelter, income, or the means to sustain their lives. The rights group claims that this process undermines the prospect of refugees and internally displaced people returning home in "safety and dignity."
HRW associate Ukraine director Yulia Gorbunova stated: "Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes in areas under Russian occupation due to the ongoing war. Now they also face the unlawful seizure of their property as Russia blatantly disregards its obligations as an occupying power."
In October 2022, Russian authorities introduced [8] "an unlawful and opaque administrative process" in occupied areas, through which Ukrainian owners are required to re-register their property under Russian law by January 2028. Ukrainian property owners are also required to obtain Russian citizenship to participate in this process. The deadline, however, was later brought forward to July 2026, with Russian authorities claiming [9] residents had already had "more than enough time" to re-register their property. The authorities designate the private property that is not re-registered as "ownerless," after which courts transfer it to municipal ownership.
Following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia unilaterally annexed [10] the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts (regions), imposing their own administrative and legal systems. This annexation has been rejected as unlawful [11] under international law. Russian authorities have also "methodically made passportization a tool of administrative control by linking all essential services to accepting Russian citizenship," including phone communication, as SIM cards from local operators now require Russian identification.
According to [12]Maksym Beznosiuk, a strategic policy specialist: "Moscow's ultimate objective is to force pro-Russian allegiance and erase any traces of Ukrainian identity. Ukrainians who resist these efforts are receiving administrative removal orders and forced expulsions."
Article 51 of Customary International Humanitarian Law [13], which applies universally to all warring parties, prohibits an occupying power from confiscating private property without justification of military necessity. Regulation 46 of the Hague Convention (1907) [14], to which Russia is a party [15], provides a similar prohibition.
From JURIST [16], May 28. Used with permission. Internal links added.
See our last report on Russian war crimes [17] in Ukraine.
